Music

Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" turns 30

by Nicole Villeneuve

A sneaky way to avoid a one-hit-wonder technicality would be for your song to spawn one of the most ubiquitous samples of all time. Tom Tom Club did just that with “Genius of Love;” this year, it turns thirty.

Husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz formed the Tom Tom Club as a side project when their primary outfit, Talking Heads, was put in a financial tight spot after their elaborate, brilliant Stop Making Sense tour. The history of the single, including details of the Lee “Scratch” Perry-abandoned recording sessions, is detailed on Vanity Fair.

“Genius of Love” has been sampled by everyone from hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash to 2Pac to the Black Eyed Peas; Tom Tom Club has a large, but not-exhaustive list on their website. To commemorate, they’re planning a series of shows and a live/remix album release. They will appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight, Tuesday, January 11.

Image courtesy of TomTomClub.net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN1t5qdBUzs